Trump to welcome Egypt's al-Sisi to the White House

President Donald Trump will welcome autocratic Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to the White House next month to discuss their nations’ strategic partnership and shared priorities in the Middle East, the White House said Friday.

The two leaders will convene April 9 for talks on how to build the “robust military, economic and counterterrorism cooperation” between the United States and Egypt, a statement from the White House press secretary’s office said.

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“The two leaders will also discuss developments and shared priorities in the region, including enhancing regional economic integration and addressing ongoing conflicts, and Egypt’s longstanding role as a lynchpin of regional stability,” the White House said.

Trump’s relationship with Sisi since taking office has consisted of public exchanges of praise with the Egyptian leader, a controversial figure who was less popular with Trump’s predecessors for his authoritarian regime installed after a bloody coup d’etat in 2013 that removed President Mohamed Morsi from power.

The U.S. president has embraced Sisi as an ally who can support U.S. interests abroad, particularly in its battle against terrorism in the Middle East. The president occasionally lauds the Egyptian leader from his social media account, most recently tweeting in January that he was excited to see Sisi move his country “to a more inclusive future."

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The friendly exchanges have drawn criticism, particularly from activists who say Sisi’s regime is even more oppressive than that of Egypt’s former dictator, Hosni Mubarak, who was backed by the United States until his ouster during the 2011 "Arab spring" revolutions. Sisi has jailed tens of thousands of political prisoners and clamped down on freedom of speech.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he discussed the need for Sisi’s government to improve human rights when the pair met in January, but critics accused the U.S. diplomat of issuing a weak call for change.

Sisi’s upcoming visit comes just weeks after Trump declared the United States would formally recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, an announcement made amid rising tensions between the U.S. ally and Palestinians in Gaza after a rocket fired Monday injured seven Israelis.

Sisi last visited the White House in April 2017, when Trump lauded the Egyptian leader for doing “a fantastic job” and said the United States was “very much behind” him.